Hey there,
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend. Today, we take a look at Microsoft’s 626,000 tonne offtake with Svante and Meadow Lake Tribal Council. It’s the first BECCS offtake in Canada - and the first with Indigenous ownership - and could be a blueprint for future projects.
Elsewhere in climate tech:
Soma Energy emerges from stealth to optimize data centre energy use
Novisto acquires UK’s Minimum to expand its ESG platform
BC dials back EV sales targets
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Svante and MLTC sign 626,000-tonne CDR deal with Microsoft
Source: MLTC Bioenergy
What happened: Microsoft signed a 15-year carbon removal offtake with Svante and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) for 626,000 tonnes from North Star - Canada's first majority Indigenous-owned BECCS project.
The tech: North Star will add carbon capture to an existing biomass power plant that uses waste from an adjacent MLTC-owned sawmill. The captured CO₂ will be transported and permanently stored underground - a fully integrated source-to-sink system.
The biomass absorbs CO2 during growth, producing net removals when emissions are captured and stored. At capacity, the plant will deliver 90,000 tonnes of CDR credits per year.
Why it matters: BECCS is one of the most mature CDR pathways, but has struggled to deliver at commercial scale. Feedstock access, expensive CO2 infrastructure, and weak commercial incentives have stalled projects.
North Star has built structural advantages to offset these risks: feedstocks are on-site, the facility is already running, and co-products like heat and power offset costs.
Microsoft's 15-year commitment solves the third, giving Svante and MLTC a bankable revenue stream to finance construction.
Not so simple:
No final investment decision yet - commercial operations are three years out
BECCS margins are notoriously tight
Microsoft is the dominant CDR buyer - project developers need to diversify
What's next: North Star is shaping up as a reference project for commercially viable BECCS and Indigenous-owned carbon removal. With the offtake signed, Svante will fund development through to FID and is targeting commercial operations in early 2029.
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ThinkLabs (New York - led by Toronto’s Josh Wong) closed a $39 million Series A for its grid management platform that improves reliability and reduces bottlenecks. ThinkLabs is
Soma Energy (Vancouver, BC) raised $7 million in seed and pre-seed funding for its energy intelligence platform that unlocks existing grid capacity and accelerate speed to power for data centres.
Carbon Upcycling (Calgary, AB) secured $10 million in asset-based financing for its first commercial CCU project at the Ash Grove Mississauga Cement Plant.
Novisto (Montreal, QC) acquired UK-based Minimum to consolidate fragmented ESG software tools into a single platform for enterprise clients.
NGen announced $79.5 million in funding for manufacturers to adopt AI, including Miru (smart windows), e-Zinc (AI quality control for battery energy storage), and Giatec Scientific (cement use optimization).
Low-carbon cement startup CURA will pilot transforming agricultural spent lime into low-carbon cement materials and chemical co-products.
Relocalize is opening a fully autonomous “dark factory” in Montreal to manufacture water-based cold packs for meal delivery.
Climative launched a new platform to help insurers turn climate risk data into actionable steps for homeowners.
dcbel is launching its home energy management platform in Quebec, connecting solar, battery storage and grid interaction.
Boralex, Energir and Hydro Quebec started construction on a $3 billion, 800MW wind farm outside Quebec City.
THE CLIMATE CYCLE
The Economic Case for Carbon Removal
We caught up with Na’im Merchant, Executive Director at Carbon Removal Canada, to talk about the state of Canada’s CDR sector and what a new $100M commitment from the Government of Canada, RBC, BMO, Shopify, NorthX and others unlocks.
Go deeper on carbon removal. We talk about:
How CDR saves Canada money on the path to net zero
Industrial integration: mining, steel, and forestry as CDR opportunities
Is CDR going through a “trough of disillusionment” or normal maturation?
The US pullback: genuine competitive opening for Canada, or missed opportunity?
What policy and capital levers need to be pulled to realize this gigatonne-scale potential
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
BC’s new EV targets: BC cut its ZEV sales target from 100% to 75% by 2035. The move aligns BC with federal ZEV policies and responds to a pullback on EVs from North American automakers.
Why it matters: While it may seem like a step backwards, an adjusted target will be more politically durable. The changes respond to changing market conditions while maintaining a clear long-term signal for EV adoption. Sticking by previous targets would make them appear inflexible and dogmatic, setting up carbon tax-style attacks.
EV infrastructure: Public EV charging networks grew 17.4% last year, down from the previous year’s 24.2% growth. Fast chargers saw the most rapid growth, expanding by 33.6%.
Tax credit updates: New R&D incentives are in effect now that Bill C-15 received royal assent. Updates measures include eligibility for CAPEX expenses, the Clean Electricity ITC, and updates to other Clean ITCs.
Delayed MOU: The April 1st deadline for four key agreements in the Alberta-Canada MOU has now passed. No progress has been shared on industrial carbon pricing and large-scale carbon capture projects.
BYD pushback: The Ontario and federal government are pushing back on Stellantis’ plans to assemble vehicles from China’s Leapmotor at one of its assembly plants. The plant would assemble final vehicles with Chinese parts.
Solar uptake: Solar generation by commercial customers jumped 82% in Nova Scotia last year, driven by a higher program cap and new investment tax credits.
🗓 Toronto Climate Week Info Session: Whether you're curious about hosting an event, partnering, or just attending, this call will give you everything you need to take the next step. April 14th
🚀 Clean Industry Fund 2026: BC opened applications for the Clean Industry Fund, with $35M available for projects that reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Apply by May 22nd.
🚀 Spring Invest Together: An investment prize for early-stage climate ventures ready to raise. Investors apply by April 27th.